My new 300 lb baby

[Twilight Fenrir]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

[Aunt Phil]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

HEY, I'm trying to pick us up a few bucks here.  You seen the price of E70-s6 this week? 

You got a hammer, a heater & an anvil you make the rest of the tools.  You add a welder and you can cheat a lot.  I've got a smith still sputtering 6 years after I did a buildup with the MIG machine, threw it on the anvil and beat hell out of it, because I convinced him it was a total hammer job. 

The current economy doesn't allow for complementary banter. 

[Twilight Fenrir]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

HEY, I'm trying to pick us up a few bucks here.  You seen the price of E70-s6 this week? 

You got a hammer, a heater & an anvil you make the rest of the tools.  You add a welder and you can cheat a lot.  I've got a smith still sputtering 6 years after I did a buildup with the MIG machine, threw it on the anvil and beat hell out of it, because I convinced him it was a total hammer job. 

The current economy doesn't allow for complementary banter.

What good are a few male deer? o.o I mean, I guess they're tasty... and you can make some cool stuff out of the antlers... but I'd much rather get tools than deer :P And, it's tough to forge power tools... theoretically possible... but tough.

[Aunt Phil]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

HEY, I'm trying to pick us up a few bucks here.  You seen the price of E70-s6 this week? 

You got a hammer, a heater & an anvil you make the rest of the tools.  You add a welder and you can cheat a lot.  I've got a smith still sputtering 6 years after I did a buildup with the MIG machine, threw it on the anvil and beat hell out of it, because I convinced him it was a total hammer job. 

The current economy doesn't allow for complementary banter.

What good are a few male deer? o.o I mean, I guess they're tasty... and you can make some cool stuff out of the antlers... but I'd much rather get tools than deer :P And, it's tough to forge power tools... theoretically possible... but tough.

You got an anvil; You got a Hammer & you got an arm.
What the hell more do you need for power tools?
Most you need is a decent sledge.

[Twilight Fenrir]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

HEY, I'm trying to pick us up a few bucks here.  You seen the price of E70-s6 this week? 

You got a hammer, a heater & an anvil you make the rest of the tools.  You add a welder and you can cheat a lot.  I've got a smith still sputtering 6 years after I did a buildup with the MIG machine, threw it on the anvil and beat hell out of it, because I convinced him it was a total hammer job. 

The current economy doesn't allow for complementary banter.

What good are a few male deer? o.o I mean, I guess they're tasty... and you can make some cool stuff out of the antlers... but I'd much rather get tools than deer :P And, it's tough to forge power tools... theoretically possible... but tough.

You got an anvil; You got a Hammer & you got an arm.
What the hell more do you need for power tools?
Most you need is a decent sledge.

Actually, I could really use some swage blocks n.n Or even just big chunks of iron from which to make them! A power hammer would be nice, even though I prefer to work by hand... Ooh, I could use a long electric kiln type thing so I could actually harden/temper swords since so many people ask me about that :P A smaller portable anvil, a bigger portable forge... Raw materials... All kinds of things I can take for barter...

[Aunt Phil]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

HEY, I'm trying to pick us up a few bucks here.  You seen the price of E70-s6 this week? 

You got a hammer, a heater & an anvil you make the rest of the tools.  You add a welder and you can cheat a lot.  I've got a smith still sputtering 6 years after I did a buildup with the MIG machine, threw it on the anvil and beat hell out of it, because I convinced him it was a total hammer job. 

The current economy doesn't allow for complementary banter.

What good are a few male deer? o.o I mean, I guess they're tasty... and you can make some cool stuff out of the antlers... but I'd much rather get tools than deer :P And, it's tough to forge power tools... theoretically possible... but tough.

You got an anvil; You got a Hammer & you got an arm.
What the hell more do you need for power tools?
Most you need is a decent sledge.

Actually, I could really use some swage blocks n.n Or even just big chunks of iron from which to make them! A power hammer would be nice, even though I prefer to work by hand... Ooh, I could use a long electric kiln type thing so I could actually harden/temper swords since so many people ask me about that :P A smaller portable anvil, a bigger portable forge... Raw materials... All kinds of things I can take for barter...

Go find an abandoned RR siding, there sure as hell are plenty of them next to unused industrial buildings in this country in 2015.  Plenty of free iron there.

Long tempering oven, pencil out what that will cost to operate.  I've installed equipment that never got used after cost of operation became known.  NOPE, I didn't tell the fools, I just did exactly what they desired.  I'll bet less than 1% of the people asking you for the service will not be willing to pay the cost of operation.
Only mobile smithing I know of is a farrier, and he constantly complains about the time it takes to cool so he can put it in the truck and go to the next job.  He also complains about people expecting him to work for free.  Coal & portable ended with Diesel locomotives arriving on the rails.

[Twilight Fenrir]

Keep up the banter, you guys are entertaining.
 None of my anvils have a point that sharp, and I'm glad they don't.

You want banter, send money.
I don't entertain for free.

Can you barter for banter?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
AND
Unless your retainer arrives in the next 24 hours Twilight will be by to drop his anvil on your foot.

You may barter for the option of which end of the damn anvil lands on your foot first.

Speak for yourself, I'll barter for banter. I accept all manner of blacksmithing tools :P Gimmie an anvil and I'll banter your ears off!

HEY, I'm trying to pick us up a few bucks here.  You seen the price of E70-s6 this week? 

You got a hammer, a heater & an anvil you make the rest of the tools.  You add a welder and you can cheat a lot.  I've got a smith still sputtering 6 years after I did a buildup with the MIG machine, threw it on the anvil and beat hell out of it, because I convinced him it was a total hammer job. 

The current economy doesn't allow for complementary banter.

What good are a few male deer? o.o I mean, I guess they're tasty... and you can make some cool stuff out of the antlers... but I'd much rather get tools than deer :P And, it's tough to forge power tools... theoretically possible... but tough.

You got an anvil; You got a Hammer & you got an arm.
What the hell more do you need for power tools?
Most you need is a decent sledge.

Actually, I could really use some swage blocks n.n Or even just big chunks of iron from which to make them! A power hammer would be nice, even though I prefer to work by hand... Ooh, I could use a long electric kiln type thing so I could actually harden/temper swords since so many people ask me about that :P A smaller portable anvil, a bigger portable forge... Raw materials... All kinds of things I can take for barter...

Go find an abandoned RR siding, there sure as hell are plenty of them next to unused industrial buildings in this country in 2015.  Plenty of free iron there.

Long tempering oven, pencil out what that will cost to operate.  I've installed equipment that never got used after cost of operation became known.  NOPE, I didn't tell the fools, I just did exactly what they desired.  I'll bet less than 1% of the people asking you for the service will not be willing to pay the cost of operation.
Only mobile smithing I know of is a farrier, and he constantly complains about the time it takes to cool so he can put it in the truck and go to the next job.  He also complains about people expecting him to work for free.  Coal & portable ended with Diesel locomotives arriving on the rails.

Interesting... There are lots and lots of rail lines around here... I might be well served checking out the mine pits for bits of abandoned machinery... Northern Minnesota is full of mine pits :P

Yeah, I know noone would actually PAY for one right now... But at least I could say, 'Yes I can' and maybe catch the one in a thousand who would :P

I just picked up a better forge the other day n.n It's a nice little Buffalo forge, about twice the size of my crappy rivet forge. The down side is it has a pump-lever versus a crank, but I think I can convert it over easily enough... For now, it's definitely a step up n.n I go to historical reenactments, so a portable shop is a must...





Just need to build a more portable anvil stand, and vise stand... 4 RR ties bolted together isn't the easiest thing to load into a truck....

[Aunt Phil]

A, did you use stove polish on that forge pan?
B, any clay bottomed creeks in your area?
C, Look at that blower handle for a while, there is a trick to tie a short rope on it and use a board for a foot treadle that beats hell out of cranking.  Just don't grab the forge pan for stability while you treadle.
D, there should be aprons for that pan that index into the holes below the lip.

You're claiming to be a blacksmith and complaining the anvil ain't easy to load, you see anything wrong with that argument?  If smithing was easy girls would do it. 

[Twilight Fenrir]

A, did you use stove polish on that forge pan?
B, any clay bottomed creeks in your area?
C, Look at that blower handle for a while, there is a trick to tie a short rope on it and use a board for a foot treadle that beats hell out of cranking.  Just don't grab the forge pan for stability while you treadle.
D, there should be aprons for that pan that index into the holes below the lip.

You're claiming to be a blacksmith and complaining the anvil ain't easy to load, you see anything wrong with that argument?  If smithing was easy girls would do it.

A. No, it was already 'restored' prior to my acquiring it. I think it's high temp spray paint... Will find out when it gets put to use :P
B. Not that I know of.
C. That's... Kind of brilliant :D Thanks!
D.  Aprons? That serve what purpose? I used those holes to make and mount  a tool rack on my previous forge, I was planning to do the same with this one...

Ain't complaining about the anvil itself :P I pick up and carry my 200# anvil in my hands. :P But I have to pack a dolley and ramps for my anvil stand, and vise stand. The dolley and ramps take up a lot of room in my truck that could be better used. If I make a hollow stand for each, I can load them by hand. Maybe even store my tongs and hammers in them so I don't have to have that great big tool box, too :P

Also, girls do blacksmith :P

[Aunt Phil]

OK, no good old creek mud available, time to look into clay from a ceramic shop, or plastic refractory.  Even a quarter inch of clay will lengthen the life of the forge considerably.  It also puts more of the heat in your coal into the work and less into the forge pan.

Aprons give you coal preheating and storage as well as a place to break the fire up when you're finished cooking your iron.  Flip the coal waiting to burn in the pan onto the apron, spread the fire out and save coal.  Good coal is expensive.  Lousy coal is costly too.

C- there is a lot of sneaky in being a good smith.  Watch an olboy working a treadle and you'll see him casually use the handle to get the jackshaft perfectly positioned to take off when he steps on the treadle. 
I've driven damn good smiths nuts by employing MIG buildup and beating that to shape and letting them try to figure out how I shaped that. 

D- think on it, where those holes are located in that cast iron pan is invitation to fracture hot cast if stress is applied there.  Hang a tool rack there and you added a lever to multiply the impact of a tool falling into its stored position.   

NEVER EVER CARRY ANYTHING heavier than your coffee mug!  Wheels are Mother Natures way of saying Back Injury is FOREVER.  An old wood milk crate would hold half a ton of weight.  You can make an anvil stand with crap 2x4s and plywood that will work as well as your heavy block if you joint it properly.   A little extra jointery and it can be a carrying box too.

Yup, I know about girl strikers.  I willingly sit back and let Rusty's wife swing the hammer.  She's fun to watch too.  She even sings and fiddles.

[keykeeper]

Just curious if Twilight ever heated that anvil up and quenched it, to reharden it?

This thread contains some of the most appalling abuse/restoration of an anvil I have ever seen.

There is a proper way to weld up and hardface an anvil....it doesn't involve any rehardening by heating in a bonfire.

He even posted the write up that anvilfire has about proper weldment and hardfacing.

Breaks my little blacksmith heart to see all these posts.......

[Twilight Fenrir]

Just curious if Twilight ever heated that anvil up and quenched it, to reharden it?

This thread contains some of the most appalling abuse/restoration of an anvil I have ever seen.

There is a proper way to weld up and hardface an anvil....it doesn't involve any rehardening by heating in a bonfire.

He even posted the write up that anvilfire has about proper weldment and hardfacing.

Breaks my little blacksmith heart to see all these posts.......

No, I haven't gotten around to it yet. Been busy getting ready for Minnesota winter...

And what is that right way? Believe me, I spent DAYS researching 'the right way'. Every person had their own right way, and for every person with their own right way, there are two who say that it's wrong... And everybody is an expert with years of experience who has restored countless anvils...

Maybe the answer is... That they're all right. Anvils are deceptively complex machines. But I think perhaps we exagerate this, making them more mysterious than they need to be, like so many other things in our trade. (I'm looking at you, Damascus Steel) People still adamantly insist that you have to quench a blade with the leading edge pointed North...

250lbs of solid wrought iron aren't going to crack because it wasn't pre-heated. Wrought iron is naturally fairly soft and forgiving. Hardening it in a big fire is how it was originally made to be hard, so that's not abusive. The only big factors in this particular restoration is the metalurgy of the filler, and the skill of my welding.

My arc welding isn't up to snuff... It just isn't... But I am passable with a MIG. I used the wire Aunt Phil suggested, it was also the same wire that the smith from whom I apprentice uses for fixing his anvils. Whether or not it will harden enough remains to be seen... But it will be better than what I have now. If it doesn't hold up, I just have to grind it all off and try again if/when it fails. That's how we learn what's the right way...

[turnnut]

Twilight, in a repro catalog of the 1880 Jackson & Tyler Tools and Supplies, Baltimore, MD

there is a picture of a forge that looks like yours.   (has the lever handle)

specs; No.3 with dash, size of fan, 8 inches,  size of hearth, 21 x 27 inches
height of fireplace, 29 inches,  weight, 145 pounds
price; $36.oo

they also sold Eagle anvils;  4lbs. to 90 lbs.    $1.oo   to  $8.oo

100 lb. to 800 lb. anvils  9 cents per pound. 

[Aunt Phil]

Twilight, all of Keeykeepers complements aside, have you given that hunk of iron a good beating yet?

[keykeeper]

Wasn't trying to put anyone down, but to heat and quench an anvil that size will require one hell of a fire to get to critical temp, and a pretty elaborate setup to quench it correctly.

Proper weldment of an anvil face requires that the sub-face be built up slowly with regular electrodes, and then hardfacing electrodes used on the last part. The face of forged anvils, is a tool steel, and the body is usually wrought iron.

Would be a different story if the entire anvil is of the cast steel type.

I've never claimed to be an expert, like some do. Just commenting from the perspective of a blacksmith who has been doing this stuff for almost ten years, and has spent countless hours at conferences, and learning from masters along the way.

If I'm not helpful in my comments, then so be it. Nobody listens anyway.

I'll leave you to all the wrench forum resident blacksmith (amongst other trades) experts, then. Good luck, enjoy what you are doing, and most importantly, have fun.

I have better things to do, then be dismissed by those that know everything.